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Mark from Providence, Rhode Island writes: My hero is Jorge Luis Borges. Borges is an Argentine writer who constructed fictions out of his daily life. He devoted more than forty years to his scrupulous art. His work is the most amazing collection of falsifications and magnifications that I have ever seen. He makes you believe what is preposterous and question what is most sacrosanct. I love him for the new realms and ideas that he has opened for me. His poetry is full of passion and his soul is wonderful place to get lost. If I could emulate any writer, Borges is the one. And yet, he disavowed this "Borges" regularly. He had a true sense of the limits of identity and self. I idolize this man that became so much more and so much less than himself.
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| "Being with you and not being with you is the only way I have to measure time." -- from The Threatened |
WRITER HERO:
JORGE LUIS BORGES
by Jeff Trussell
 "Writing is nothing more than a guided dream." With these words, Jorge Luis Borges invites us to enter one of the most peculiar worlds ever created by a writer. Peopled by men who dream their sons to life and jaguar temple gods lost in the Amazon, the universe Borges revealed through his short
stories and poems was one of infinite variety and mysticism and one that left an indelible impression on many readers.
Born in Palermo, Argentina, Borges grew up in a poor, Post-Victorian family with British roots. Ironically, this giant of Spanish literature learned English as his first language! After spending most of his youth abroad (including time spent in Spain as a follower of the Ultraist movement), Borges returned to his native Argentine soil and began to establish his reputation as one of the most skilled young writers in Buenos Aires.
On paper, however, Borges was the master of an evocative,
strangely poetic universe. Known primarily for his prose, Borges mixed science fiction with intellectual esoterica to weave tales of complex men confronting the unfathomable. Borges revolutionized the way fiction was written, using techniques and devices unheard of before his time. In many of his books, protagonists struggle with concepts rather than corporal enemies, achieving epistemological rather than physical victories. He wrote of deep dreams that no man
before him had dared articulate. Borges' forays into poetry were less successful but nonetheless quite arresting. He himself acknowledged his poetic shortcomings: "My friends tell me that my stories are much better than my poetry, but for me it is a joy to write them." Translated or in the original Spanish, his poems addressed highly erudite issues in smooth stark stanzas, such as this poem called "The Suicide," from The Book of Sand.
Borges died on June 14, 1986, at the age of 86.
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Like many great artists, it is not Borges' personal biography that distinguishes him from his peers, but rather the lives he created on paper. In real life, Borges was something of a recluse, dabbling in politics but mainly spending his time in a dark Buenos Aires apartment with his mother and working as a librarian.
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Written by
Jeff Trussell
Photos courtesy of Allen Ruch of the Labyrinth, photo by Eduardo Comesaņa |
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The Garden of Forking Paths is an excellent resource on Borges. Join the Traces of Borges: A One-Day Interdisciplinary Conference, November 20th, 1999 University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL UK. This event is organized by Ph.D. candidate Suradech Chotiudompant Poetryfoundation.org is an independent literary organization committed to a vigorous presence for poetry in American culture. It exists to discover and celebrate the best poetry and to place it before the largest possible audience. |
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Lean Uds. este cuento en Espaņol
To read about Jorge Luis Borges
in Spanish, click here to visit Mi Heroe's Jorge Luis Borges page.
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RECOMMENDED
READING | |
 Siete Conversaciones Con Jorge Luis Borges / Seven Conversations with Jose Luis Borges by Jorge Luis Borges |
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Last changed on:9/16/2004 2:04:10 AM
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